The object of the present invention is to provide a diabetic or a person taking care of them with a method for adapting the insulin medication to the specific needs of the diabetic.
Instruments for measuring blood glucose are known in the prior art which have a so-called diary function. An example of such an instrument is the Accutrend DM from the Boehringer Mannheim Company. A diabetic can use this instrument to determine and store his blood glucose concentrations. The time course of the measured blood glucose values shows the patient whether his insulin therapy is suitable. The aim of the treatment is to keep the blood glucose in a normal range which is approximately between 80 and 180 mg/dl. If the blood sugar level decreases below a value of 50 mg/dl this is referred to as hypoglycaemia which is dangerous for the patient since it impairs his cognitive powers and he may even fall into a so-called hypoglycaemic shock which can lead to death. In contrast blood sugar values above 250 mg/dl are undesired since they can lead to long-term side effects such as diabetic feet or loss of sight. New types of treatment allow the patient to dose meals, insulin and physical activities according to needs. However, in order to carry them out successfully the diabetic must learn strategies for insulin treatment. The system known in the prior art already enables a patient to observe to a certain extent what influence food intake, physical activities and insulin administration has on his blood sugar level. However, the prior art systems do not provide the user with a simple method for systematically monitoring the treatment by insulin administration and to take measures to improve the therapy. The situation is made worse by the fact that the insulin sensitivity of the patient changes during the day.
Hence the object of the present invention was to provide the diabetic or a person who cares for him with a simpler method to monitor and systematise diabetic treatment. The present invention proposes a method in which blood sugar values that are determined before and after meals are compared to a quotient of insulin doses to bread units.
The present invention concerns a method for monitoring insulin medication comprising the steps
a) providing sets of data containing the following data:
a blood sugar value (BVi), which was determined before a meal,
a blood sugar value (BNi), which was determined after a meal,
the bread units (BEi) which were ingested during the meal,
the insulin units (Ii) which were administered between the determination of the blood sugar values BVi and BNi,
b) calculating blood sugar differences xcex94Bi from the blood sugar values before and after the meal for the individual sets of data,
c) calculating a quotient Qi from the insulin units (Ii) and bread units BEi,
d) plotting points Pi (xcex94Bi; Qi) in a system of coordinates comprising a first coordinate for the blood sugar differences (xcex94Bi) and a second coordinate for the quotients (Qi),
e) output of the coordinate system with the points on an output device.